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Home My WebLink AboutOrdinance 6824113 West Mountain Street Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 Ordinance: 6824 File Number: 2024-01076 AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL ORDINANCE 6800: AN ORDINANCE TO EXTEND AND DELAY THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF ORDINANCE 6800 UNTIL MARCH 31, 2025 WHEREAS, Ordinance 6800 was passed on October 15, 2024, but was determined to not take effect until 90 days from passage and approval; and WHEREAS, this restriction on how much landlords could charge prospective tenants for rental application reviews and for possible background checks may violate A.C.A. § 14-43-608 Regulation of prices and so it needs its effective date delayed and extended until March 31, 2025 in an attempt to obtain an Attorney General's Opinion about the proper interpretation of "services" within the Regulation of prices statute. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends Ordinance 6800 to extend and delay its effective date until March 31, 2025 in order to obtain an Attorney General's Opinion about the proper interpretation of A.C.A. Section 14-43-608 Regulation of prices to prevent any possible violation of state law. PASSED and APPROVED on December 17, 2024 Attest: . G . T Y •�u' •� FAYETTEV!LL. OA ��• Kara Paxton, City lerk Treasurer y y } This publication was paid for by the City Clerk -Treasurer of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Amount Paid: $ 107.92 Page 1 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL ORDINANCE 6800 WHICH WAS TO ENACT § 120.03 LIMITATIONS ON RENTAL APPLICATIONS AND BACKGROUND CHECK FEES WHEREAS, Ordinance 6800 was passed on October 15, 2024, but was determined to not take effect until 90 days from passage and approval; and WHEREAS, this restriction on how much landlords could charge prospective tenants for rental application reviews and for possible background checks may violate A.C.A. § 14-43-608 Regulation of prices. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby repeals Ordinance 6800 to prevent any possible violation of state law. PASSED and APPROVED this 17th day of December, 2024. APPROVED: IN LIONELD JORDAN, Mayor ATTEST: KARA PAXTON, City Clerk/Treasurer City of Fayetteville, Arkansas 113 West Mountain Street Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 Legislation Text File #: 2024-01076 AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL ORDINANCE 6800 AN ORDINANCE TO EXTEND AND DELAY THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF ORDINANCE 6800 UNTIL MARCH 31, 2025 WHEREAS, Ordinance 6800 was passed on October 15, 2024, but was determined to not take effect until 90 days from passage and approval; and WHEREAS, this restriction on how much landlords could charge prospective tenants for rental application reviews and for possible background checks may violate A.C.A. § 14-43-608 Regulation of prices and so it needs its effective date delayed and extended until March 31, 2025 in an attempt to obtain an Attorney General's Opinion about the proper interpretation of "services" within the Regulation of prices statute. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends Ordinance 6800 to extend and delay its effective date until March 31, 2025 in order to obtain an Attorney General's Opinion about the proper interpretation of A.C.A. Section 14-43-608 Regulation of prices to prevent any possible violation of state law. Page 1 CivicClerk No.: 2024- AGENDA REQUEST FORM FOR: Council Meeting of December 17, 2024 FROM: City Attorney Kit Williams ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION TITLE AND SUBJECT: AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL ORDINANCE 6800 WHICH WAS TO ENACT § 120.03 LIMITATIONS ON RENTAL APPLICATIONS AND BACKGROUND CHECK FEES APPROVED FOR AGENDA: Kit Williams Date City Attorney 41 DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY TO: Mayor Jordan City Council Kara Paxton, City Clerk/Treasurer Kit Williams City Attorney Blake Pennington Senior Assistant City Attorney Hannah Hungate Assistant City Attorney Stacy Barnes CC: Susan Norton, Chief of Staff Paralegal Paul Becker, Chief Financial Officer Blake Pennington, Senior Assistant City Attorney FROM: Kit Williams, City Attorney _--� DATE: December 12, 2024 RE: Repeal of Not Yet in Effect Ordinance to Limit Amount of Money that Landlords can Charge for Application Fee and Background Checks I have always believed that when I find myself in an unanticipated hole, the first thing I need to do is not to claim that this isn t really a hole, but to stop digging. I was concerned early in the development of § 120.03 Limitation on Rental Application and Background Check Fees that this "proposal is dangerously close to violation of State Law. A.C.A. § 14-54-1409 Rent control preemption. ' (b) A local government shall not enact, maintain or enforce an ordinance or resolution that would have the effect of controlling the amount of rent charged for leasing private residential Or commercial property."' Memo to Council Member Sarah Moore, 9-12-24. I eventually concluded that limiting the rental application fee and any background fee would not "have the effect of controlling the amounts of rent charged" and so allowed the City Council to enact § 120.03 which will not go into effect until mid -January of 2025. Unfortunately, our legal research missed A.C.A. § 14-43-608 Regulation of prices which states: "No municipality shall have the power to regulate prices for goods, rentals, or services sold or performed within the municipality by individuals or firms." At first blush, this may not appear to restrict how much a landlord could charge a rental applicant to review the rental application form or obtain a credit or criminal background check on the applicant. However, the term "services" is very broad and could be interpreted by a court to mean the "service" of reviewing the application form and obtaining a background check of the applicants' credit and criminal history. I believe this statutory prohibition on a city's power to regulate prices for "services sold or performed" would likely invalidate Ordinance 6800. I regret not finding this statutory provision prior to the City Council's enactment of Ordinance 6800. Fortunately, the ordinance is not yet effective so my mistake can be corrected by rapidly repealing the enacting ordinance. I have prepared such repealing ordinance and attached it to this memo. I will request that the City Council allow me to walk this repealing ordinance onto the December 17, 2024 City Council Meeting to prevent the improper enacting ordinance approved on October 15, 2024 from ever taking effect.